KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Kootenai Co.'s emergency medical services chief is crediting a custom ambulance design for saving the lives of a few of his paramedics and a patient following an accident caused by a drunk driver.
Last week, Idaho State Police say the driver, identified as Matthew T. Johnson, 24, of Park City, Utah, slammed into an ambulance driven by Kootenai Co. EMS while traveling on Highway 95 roughly five miles south of Coeur d’Alene. Both the driver and all occupants of the ambulance received only minor injuries.
"Once I saw it, I thought 'Wow, I can't believe the patient and crew are OK,’” said Kootenai Co. EMS chief Chris Way. "Obviously, your mind goes to: is the patient OK?" Way said that the drunk driver was traveling at 70 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
The ambulance, and the 14 others in the KCEMS fleet were designed with safety in mind, Way says. The ambulance company that the agency contracted with worked with KCEMS to fit their needs.
"They came into the project knowing that safety was our paramount objective,” Way said, adding that KCEMS insisted on extra safety features.
Inside the ambulance cab, various pieces of equipment remained stationary and secure thanks to safety designs and protocols.
"It did its job, but it kept everything in place,” Way said.
Way hopes that by emphasizing what happened, other first responder agencies may take note when constructing their ambulance fleets.
"Everything we did to put safety in mind and the trucks they constructed - the job that they did really paid off for us when it counted,” he said.
The ambulance is likely a total loss, Way said. It’s value along with the various pieces of equipment inside the ambulance were valued around $300,000, according to Way.
Online court records show that Johnson was charged with driving under the influence on Monday in Kootenai Co. Magistrate court.